Health Worker Accommodation

Discussions with stakeholders highlighted the shortfall in affordable rental accommodation in the Cranleigh area for healthcare workers, leading to possible difficulties in both the recruitment and retention of staff.

To overcome this, an accommodation block on the Knowle Lane site with 26 affordable units is proposed. This accommodation will be made available to anyone working in healthcare locally.

This is a similar arrangement to the staff accommodation which exists at the RSCH site in Guildford, where nursing and auxiliary staff are given the opportunity to live on the RSCH campus. This reduces travel time and costs, whilst providing staff with modern, affordable accommodation.

“NHS Guildford and Waverley CCG and our partners (including Royal Surrey County Hospital, Surrey County Council) continue to support Cranleigh Village Hospital Trust’s (CVHT) vision to create additional community beds in the proposed care home. We also welcome the accommodation block being developed for NHS and social care staff given the pressures on recruitment the sector faces currently. We know that we need to address the challenges that we face, particularly around the changing needs of patients and those living longer with long-term conditions and an ageing population in Surrey. Our aim is to ensure that we provide the right care in the right place for local people.” Giles Mahoney, Director of Strategy and Partnerships, and Dr Andrew Carne, Director of Clinical Information at RSCH